# Parliament Revisits Assisted Dying Bill as MPs Vote on Controversial Legislation

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/parliament-revisits-assisted-dying-bill-as-mps-vote-on-controversial-legislation/
- Published: 2026-09-11T17:12:07+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-11T23:21:57+00:00
- Topics: Elections, Government, Health, Medicine, Politics, World

## Key points

- Commons rejected assisted dying Bill 286-270 at Second Reading.
- Several MPs, including Janet Daby, switched from support to opposition.
- Opponents say issue is settled "for a generation"; supporters vow to continue.

## Summary

MPs in the House of Commons rejected a fresh attempt to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, voting 286 to 270 against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its Second Reading after a four-hour debate. The defeat, met with cheers in the chamber, came after several MPs who had previously backed similar legislation switched to oppose it, and it settles one of the most contentious moral and political questions facing Parliament in recent years, at least for the current session.

The Bill, reintroduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards after she took over from Kim Leadbeater, would have allowed terminally ill adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death; near-identical legislation had previously passed two Commons votes before falling in the House of Lords. Former minister Janet Daby was among those who reversed her earlier support, citing an uneasy conscience, while Kemi Badenoch and Sir Ed Davey voted against and Andy Burnham and Nigel Farage abstained. Opponents, including Archbishop Richard Moth, the Archbishop of Canterbury Dame Sarah Mullally, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, had raised safeguarding and safety concerns, and campaigners against the Bill said the issue was now settled "for a generation," while supporters vowed to keep pressing the case.

## Coverage

- [Daily Mail: Will MPs kill off assisted dying law today? Controversial law returns to the Commons with vote on a knife-edge as supporters vow to force ‘flawed’ plan through Parliament](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16123065/Will-MPs-kill-assisted-dying-law-today-Controversial-law-returns-Commons-vote-knife-edge-supporters-vow-force-flawed-plan-Parliament.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [Daily Mail: The cancer sufferer wrongly given six months to live…and a daughter whose dying mother begged ‘put me out of my misery’: The two sides of assisted dying debate as MPs vote on bill](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16123319/cancer-sufferer-assisted-dying-debate-vote.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [Daily Mail: The end of the rush towards assisted dying? MPs vote down controversial law change at the second attempt after emotional Commons debate](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16123679/The-end-rush-assisted-dying-MPs-vote-controversial-law-change-second-attempt-emotional-Commons-debate.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [The Independent: Assisted dying will not become law after MPs vote down bill in dramatic U-turn](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/assisted-dying-bill-vote-commons-mps-b3048644.html)
- [The Star (Sheffield): How Sheffield MPs voted on 'Assisted Dying Bill'](https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/sheffield-mps-split-on-assisted-dying-bill-as-only-half-to-attend-decisive-vote-9022445)
- [The Independent: Assisted dying bill: What happens now?](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/assisted-dying-bill-vote-uk-esther-rantzen-b3048438.html)
- [The Independent: Dame Esther Rantzen says it is a ‘tragic day’ after assisted dying bill is rejected](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/assisted-dying-bill-vote-mps-esther-rantzen-b3048780.html)
- [Daily Mail: How did YOUR MP vote on the assisted dying bill?](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16124321/How-did-MP-vote-assisted-dying-bill.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)

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